VIN: Lamborghini Diablo SE30 Jota chassis RLA12109
/ Ben Tyer
History of chassis RLA12109
Chassis RLA12109 was one of 18 Diablo SE30s built in right-hand drive.
It was commissioned by Lamborghini GB as a press and promotional car to publicise the availability of the Jota kit which had been developed by Lamborghini Engineering who managed the firm’s Formula 1 engine programme. The name of the kit was a nod to the experimental department’s legendary Miura-based Jota hot rod of 1970.
The Jota kit for the SE30 most notably included a tuned 595bhp engine, a competition exhaust system and custom twin-scoop engine cover.
RLA12109 was one of five right-hand drive SE30s painted Giallo. It was also configured with matching wheels and a unique two-tone Giallo / Bleu interior.
The car was completed on August 27th 1995 and arrived in England shortly afterwards.
In mid May it was displayed at the Lamborghini GB headquarters in Reading at an event to promote the Jota’s availability. RLA12109 was shown alongside a matching yellow Miura SV and Countach 25th Anniversary.
In late June, RLA12109 was taken by Lamborghini GB to the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Four months later the car appeared at the London Motor Show (October 19th to 29th).
Despite these efforts, no other SE30s were ordered with the Jota kit for the UK market. The only other right-hand drive Jota was supplied to South Africa (RLA12091)
RLA12109 was subsequently sold to a private owner and registered N7 RAV.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Five years after Lamborghini had displayed the original production-spec. Countach (the LP400), an even more dramatic variant was revealed under lights at the Geneva Motor Show in 1978. Dubbed…
Is the Countach perhaps the most Lamborghini of all? Let's take a ride in the Quattrovalvole, not the purest, but the most powerful carburetted Countach. Twelve symphonic cylinders that still give incredible satisfaction today.
During 1970, Lamborghini development engineer and chief test driver, Bob Wallace, was given the go ahead by general manager, Paolo Stanzani, to construct a mid-engined hot rod more or less from scratch.
Ferruccio Lamborghini established his car building firm to create the kind of discrete Grand Tourers favoured by most European industrialists of the time. However, some of his eager young engineers…
A 5.7-liter V12 sits inches behind Derek Tam-Scott's head. Forty-eight valves, no turbos, nothing between the combustion and your ears. As the Lamborghini Diablo VT charges through the trees, it does what it has always done best: fill the entire world with noise.
Although Lamborghini debuted its 1971 Countach prototype with a five-litre V12, the cost associated with bringing what was still a highly experimental engine to market ultimately proved too great.
Chassis 3961 was dispatched on July 19th 1969 as a right-hand drive Miura S uniquely configured in Verde with dual two-tone Arancia / Bianco stripes and Nero upholstery. The car was ordered…
Chassis 1120004 was the third Countach LP400 built. It followed the Geneva Show cars from 1973 (chassis 1120001) and 1974 (chassis 1120002) from which point on Lamborghini adopted an even…
Arguably the most extreme Diablo to emerge from Sant’Agata was the one-off Roadster Prototype which Lamborghini presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1992. With its cut-down…
After the Mimram Group headed by brothers Patrick and Jean-Claude acquired Automobili Lamborghini in mid 1980, a plan to expand the firm’s one-car model range was immediately…
He's been the public face of Lamborghini, at least to many of their visiting clients and journalists, for decades through good times and bad. The factory even named a car after him, and he's still doing what he does best: test driving Lamborghinis.
Chassis 1121356 was a left-hand drive Series 3 LP400 S built for a Saudi Arabian customer who ordered the unique colour combination of Sahara Gold over White leather. Gold wheels were also…
From the late 1970s until the late 1990s, traditional Italian Rosso paint accounted for around half the Lamborghinis that left Sant’Agata. However, by the early 2000s, reds had dropped right off the radar…
Chassis 1120054 was a left-hand drive Countach LP400 signed off on February 14th 1975 and dispatched to the SEA Auto dealership in Rome. The handsome Tahiti Blue over Naturale Countach…
After a 15 year wait, during which hopes of an entry level Lamborghini were raised and dashed on multiple occasions, such a machine finally emerged when the highly anticipated Gallardo was…
Chassis 4818 was one of the seven Miuras built new to SV trim in right-hand drive. The car was ordered by renowned British singer-songwriter, Rod Stewart, who had previously owned two other…
Chassis 1121438 was the only Series 3 Countach LP400 S configured in Verde Abete with Bianco upholstery. Also optioned with a rear spoiler, the car was ordered through the Al Ayda Lamborghini…
Jonny Smith was contacted by the owners of The Manor in Ashby St Ledgers (the location of the Guy Fawkes gunpowder plot) to say there was a classic Lamborghini needing to be rescued in a stable...
One of 67 right-hand drive Countach Anniversaries built, chassis KLA12717 was ordered by London-domiciled Iranian real estate magnate, renowned watch collector and gentleman racing driver, Reza…
In 1984, Lamborghini started work on a Countach Restyling Prototype that could be assessed as a potential stop-gap model before a proper clean sheet replacement came on stream. The team…
Chassis RLA12122 was the 122nd Diablo SE30 built and one of 18 in right-hand drive. Completed on June 26th 1995, it was configured in Giallo with Nero / Giallo full leather upholstery and custom…
A selection of 1991 photographs from the Portman Lamborghini facility in Brentford. Featured cars: Lamborghini Countach Quattrovalvole: A8 FAN, Lamborghini Jalpa: F220 RHX, Lamborghini…
Having celebrated its 25th and 30th anniversaries with special editions of the Countach and Diablo respectively, Automobili Lamborghini’s 40th year as a car maker was marked in a similar…
At the Paris Motor Show in September 1998, French coachbuilder Heuliez unveiled one of the most spectacular Lamborghini-based design concepts of the 20th century: the Pregunta. Based on…
To celebrate Lamborghini’s 30th anniversary as an auto maker and homologate an uprated Diablo for GT racing, the limited edition SE30 was unveiled in September 1993. Significantly lighter…
Not long after Countach production began, Lamborghini started planning an uprated variant. The as-yet unnamed machine was to come with wider wheels, a tuned engine and a host of aggressive…
Signed off from the factory on April 16th 1987, chassis HLA12132 was a right-hand drive Countach Quattrovalvole equipped by Lamborghini with unique side skirts. Unlike the later ‘official’ side-skirted…
Although the heavily revised 1999 model year Diablo VT and SV launched in late 1998 were the first new models to arrived since the Volkswagen Audi Group’s acquisition of Automobili Lamborghini…
Lamborghini’s twelve cylinder offerings of the 1980s perfectly exemplified how the company had shifted from its founder’s ethos. Famously, Ferruccio Lamborghini had wanted to build the kind of…
Chassis HLA1255 was a right-hand drive Countach Quattrovalvole ordered through Portman Lamborghini in London by Jersey businessman, Mike Taylor. The car was signed off on August 6th…